SIGGRAPH Sets Making-Of Sessions for Films, Games and Beyond

SIGGRAPH 2016 will run its world-leading conference and exhibition at the Anaheim Convention Center in SoCal this July 24-28. Under the banner of “Render the Possibilities,” the latest edition once again promises a look at the latest accomplishments and emerging computer graphics technology. This year’s Production Sessions program will offer a look at the “Making Of” a number of high-profile motion pictures, video games, VR films and theme park attractions.

Some highlights of the Production Sessions are listed below. Visit the SIGGRAPH 2016 website for more details.

From Armadillo to Zebra: Creating the Diverse Characters and World of “Zootopia”

The world of Zootopia is a vast, multi-scale city where humans never existed and animals are evolved city-dwellers. Walt Disney Animation Studios pushed the artistic boundaries of this production to create vastly different environments filled with hundreds of unique characters.

“Kubo and the Two Strings”: One Giant Skeleton, One Colossal Undertaking

For this upcoming film (in theatres August 19), LAIKA created a giant 18-foot skeleton with a 24-foot wingspan, a massive undertaking involving the studio’s interdependent and collaborative crew. A miniature version of the puppet (approx. 3 feet tall) will be on display during the conference.

This session will take a look at how Pixar artists created the studio’s latest feature film. Top animators and technical artists will deliver a deep dive into the process behind this animated film, which required an entirely new back-end pipeline and cutting-edge technology.

Marvel Studios, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Rise FX, and Method Studios will show session attendees how they created some of this smash hit movie’s most heart-stopping moments. They will also have the Captain America suit on display during the session.

Pearl is a Google Spotlight Story directed by Oscar-winning animator Patrick Osborne. Conceived as a 360-degree experience, the film takes place entirely in a car and explores the gifts we inherit from our parents. The storyline collapses decades into minutes through montage, and can run on devices ranging from mobile phones to VR headgear, in real time.

“Star Wars: Battlefront” – Game Development in the “Star Wars” Universe!

The Electronic Arts Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (DICE) team reveals some of the work that went into this award-winning, visually stunning game. Topics include PBR, photogrammetry, vertex shading, fragment shading, and other creative disciplines.